Language Development in Children

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Questions and Answers

What does the Mutual Exclusivity Bias suggest about children assigning labels to objects?

Children assign new labels to unfamiliar objects. (correct)

Children only recognize familiar objects.

Children can attach multiple labels to the same object.

Children are indifferent to the meaning of words.

What is the Principle of Contrast primarily concerned with?

Assigning multiple labels to objects.

The similarity between words and their meanings.

Different meanings for words that apply to the same object. (correct)

Understanding the arbitrariness of language.

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of iconicity?

The use of synonyms in a language.

The word 'dog' representing an actual dog.

The sound 'zig-zag' resembling the action it describes. (correct)

The term 'furniture' covering various objects.

What categorization challenge do children face when learning new words?

Objects can belong to multiple categories simultaneously. Signup and view all the answers

What is overextension in the context of children's language development?

Mapping words to categories that are too general. Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important for children to learn basic-level categories?

They capture generalities about objects effectively. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of underextension?

Using the word 'dog' only for poodles. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following demonstrates the arbitrariness of language?

The sound 'bunny' has no necessary relation to the animal it represents. Signup and view all the answers

What type of word or phrase is referenced by the example 'Madam, I’m Adam'?

Palindrome Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the study and collection of postage stamps?

Philately Signup and view all the answers

In Tip-of-the-Tongue (TOT) experiences, which phoneme aspects are people generally more accurate about?

Beginning and end phonemes Signup and view all the answers

Which model of language processing is characterized by unidirectional links?

Feed-Forward Model Signup and view all the answers

What type of speech error involves both sound and meaning similarities as indicated by mixed errors?

Mixed errors Signup and view all the answers

During which type of situations are people more likely to make speech errors?

Non-embarrassing situations Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the SLIP technique in error monitoring?

To elicit potentially embarrassing errors Signup and view all the answers

Which behavior can help resolve a Tip-of-the-Tongue experience more quickly?

Asking oneself questions about the target word Signup and view all the answers

What is one significant effect of recursion in language?

It allows the expression of very complex concepts. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a descriptive rule in English?

Each clause can have only one main verb. Signup and view all the answers

How does the English expression 'Hand me the nails that Dan bought' demonstrate recursion?

By combining ideas into a single clause. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes the prescriptive rules of language?

They are a set of arbitrarily assigned rules for proper language use. Signup and view all the answers

In what way does Hockett's feature of semanticity affect language?

It describes how meanings are communicated through fixed associations. Signup and view all the answers

How does the strategy of pairing words with salient perceptual experiences assist in language learning?

It addresses the ambiguity of nouns belonging to multiple categories. Signup and view all the answers

What is one reason children might forget which object had a sticker after a month?

Memory retention is stronger for linguistically-conveyed information. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of Infant-Directed Speech (IDS)?

To mark important words and phrase boundaries. Signup and view all the answers

Which factor has the most impact on the amount of Infant-Directed Speech a child receives?

Socioeconomic status of the parents. Signup and view all the answers

What contributes to individual differences in word recognition among infants?

Exposure to language practices and maternal education. Signup and view all the answers

What two components are included in the concept of 'words' as packages?

Form and meaning. Signup and view all the answers

Why might not all cultures utilize Infant-Directed Speech?

Different cultural practices dictate communication styles. Signup and view all the answers

What role does exaggerated pitch and prosody play in language acquisition for infants?

It aids in the discrimination of phonemes and important words. Signup and view all the answers

Which syntactic position presents the least difficulty for listeners when resolving an anaphor?

Subject Signup and view all the answers

What advantage does first mention provide in sentence structure?

Overrules the syntactic roles Signup and view all the answers

How do semantic factors like typicality affect processing time when reading?

They speed up processing for typical items. Signup and view all the answers

Which article is typically used when referring back to a previously-introduced antecedent?

Definite article Signup and view all the answers

What role does implicit causality play in the use of pronouns?

It impacts which noun will be referred to by a pronoun. Signup and view all the answers

How does world knowledge affect the use of definite articles with new information?

It permits definite articles to be used despite new information if supported by context. Signup and view all the answers

In the sentence 'Susan blamed Rick because...', which person is expected to be referred to by the pronoun 'he'?

Rick Signup and view all the answers

What does the semantic factor of focus influence in a sentence?

The likelihood of pronoun retrieval. Signup and view all the answers

What form is predicted to be preferred for novel comparisons?

Simile forms Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT an example of a conceptual metaphor mentioned?

Love - adventure Signup and view all the answers

How do English and Mandarin differ in their expression of temporal relationships?

Mandarin uses both horizontal and vertical spatial terms Signup and view all the answers

According to the lexical representation hypothesis, how is the meaning of an idiom stored in our mental lexicon?

Idioms have their own unique mental entries Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between verbal irony and sarcasm?

Verbal irony often communicates a contrast between what is said and meant Signup and view all the answers

What does the tinge hypothesis suggest about ironic speakers?

Ironic speakers are muted in their literal meanings Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of using irony in communication as per the content?

To diffuse frustration or embarrassment Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following phrases is an idiom?

Break a leg Signup and view all the answers

What does the hybrid models theory propose regarding idioms?

Idioms are approached through both direct retrieval and compositional analysis at the same time Signup and view all the answers

What is indicated by the asymmetry of affect in understanding irony?

Ironic criticisms are quicker to understand than ironic compliments Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Fundamentals of Cognition and Language

Language is organized hierarchically, from smallest to largest units: phoneme, morpheme, word, sentence.
Language rules allow for certain arrangements of components but not all possible arrangements.
Examples of sentences with different arrangements but same meaning: "My car is over there" and "There over my car is."
Phonemes are categorized by:
- Place of articulation (where airflow is restricted).
- Manner of articulation (how airflow is restricted).
- Voicing (whether vocal folds "buzz").
All phonemes are combinations of these features.
- Example: (p) = voiceless bilabial stop, (z) = voiced alveolar fricative.
English has approximately 40 phonemes.
Some languages have more, others fewer.
Morphemes are the minimal units of meaning or grammatical function.
Words contain minimal units of meaning.
Grammatical function is included in morphemes.
Examples:
- Re- ("again") and -ed (past tense) in "renewed."

Organization of Language

Free morphemes can stand alone as words.
- Examples: "new," "tour."
Bound morphemes must be attached to other forms.
- Examples: "re-," "-ist," "-ed," "-s."
Affixes are prefixes and suffixes attached to words to change the meaning or function.
Lexical morphemes are content words carrying message content.
- Examples: nouns, verbs, adjectives.
Functional morphemes are function words.
- Examples: articles, conjunctions, prepositions.

Syntax

Syntax is how words are arranged to create phrases and sentences.
Example: "The dog chased the cat" → (determiner)(agent)(verb)(determiner)(patient).
Recursion is the ability to place a component inside another component of the same type.
Example: "Tom likes beans," "Susan thinks (x)," "Susan thinks Tom likes beans."

Tourists

It refers to a tour ("travel for pleasure) and people who go on tours.
-s signifies more than one person
-ist signifies person who does something
Free morphemes stand independently.
Bound morphemes attach to other forms (affixes)

Fundamentals of Cognition and Language: Discreteness, Displacement, Productivity, Duality of Patterning

Discreteness: Language units are distinct, not continuous. Sounds in English belong to 40 phoneme categories
Displacement: Language can describe things not present in time or space
Productivity: Language describes things that haven't been previously stated, or used before.
Duality of Patterning: A fixed number of symbols can create infinite messages

Animal Communication

Examples of animal communication, along with their functions.
- Bees (direction, distance, quality of nectar source)
Vervet monkeys, Diana monkeys (warning calls)

Ape Language Studies

Language ability in apes
Evidence needed to confirm ape comprehension of symbols

Evaluation of Evidence

How to evaluate if primates understand language the same way humans do?

Language Origins

Common ancestor ~5-8 million years ago
Speech is an adaptation, unique to humans (e.g. vocal tract configuration)
Modern humans need vocal tract modifications to speak

Speech Perception and Production

Empiricism/Nativism: discussion of innate language mechanisms vs. learned language

Prenatal Learning

Fetuses respond to environmental sounds in the third trimester.
High-frequency sounds: blocked, but low-frequency sounds easier to hear.
Babies learn native language sounds in utero.

High-Amplitude Sucking (HAS)

Has tests to show if infants prefer familiar stimuli.

Infant Speech Perception

Infants have innate ability to categorize phonemes.

Speech Segmentation

Segmentation happens around 6-7.5 months.
Babies prefer familiar words better than unfamiliar words.
Suggests segmentation ability is learned, not innate.

Precursors to Language

Infants use pre-existing skills like prosodic cues and phonotactic constraints to learn.

Statistical Learning

Babies notice patterns and analyze those to identify subcomponents.
Transition probability

Articulation

Articulation perturbs air flow to create sound waves.

Context Cues

Context cues help identify sounds.
Ganong Effect
Phoneme restoration
McGurk Effect

Motor Theory

Speech perception is about perceiving a speaker's intended gestures.
Speech gestures

Visual Context Effects

Visual contexts can aid comprehension.
Visual world paradigm
Good enough parsing: don't need parsing for everything, especially redundant information

Top-Down Processing

Expectations and knowledge affect perception, as well as language.
Higher-level mental processes
Top-down processing: linguistic knowledge, environmental context, and goals
Words, sounds and syntactic structures in predicting forthcoming information and words.

Sentence Comprehension

Parsing: using cues to understand how words in sentences connect.
Syntax structures create well-formed sentences.

Models of Parsing

Garden Path model
Constraint-based model
Global vs. Local ambiguity.
- Examples of global ambiguity: "Kids make nutritious snacks," "Dealer will hear car talk," etc.

Discourse Comprehension

Discourse is formed when multiple sentences are connected.
Goals for discourse processing are to build a situation model (representation), understand cohesive devices, process text through references, and construct discourse representations. • Construction and Integration Model: Information is encoded as propositions about the situation in a story. • How do we know these models are involved?
- Longer reading times for inconsistent sentences
- Semantic processing takes time, while syntactic processes are rather quick.
- Situation models are built by using both given and new information in a text

Discourse

Discourse happens when multiple sentences are linked together.
Discourse happens in a collaborative way
Four main processes; identifying content, reference, cohesion, discourse representation.
Construction-Integration Model: combines local and verbatim info, and situation.

Idioms

Idioms are multi-word phrases.
Idioms have different meanings to other words

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony has asymmetry of affect (e.g., ironic criticism easier to understand)
Mentalizing: thinking about another's mind.
Greater mentalizing skills can correspond to improved irony comprehension

Efficiency

Metaphors improve understanding of concepts by aiding comprehension through a known domain
Metaphor: topic (object) & vehicle (something similar).

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Description

Explore the fascinating concepts of language acquisition in children with this quiz. Test your understanding of key principles like mutual exclusivity bias, overextension, and iconicity. Delve into the challenges children face when learning new words and categorizing them.